Acquisitions

Dan and Cindy Hammes, second generation family owners of the St. Maries (Idaho) Gazette Record, have sold the newspaper to Jesse and Sasha Mullen of Deer Lodge, Mont. The Gazette Record was founded in 1906 and purchased by the Hammes family in 1958. Since 1992, Dan and Cindy Hammes have operated the newspaper. Jesse and Sasha Mullen are owners of the Bitterroot Star, Silver State Post and Philipsburg Mail newspapers in Montana. Cribb, Greene & Cope represented the Hammes family in the transaction.

CNHI, LLC has acquired The Transylvania Times of Brevard, N.C. from The Transylvania Times, Inc., the family-owned company that has published the paper for the past 80 years. The paper’s history dates to July 1, 1887 when it was named The Transylvania Pioneer. It had several other titles before it became The Transylvania Times in 1931. It has been owned by the Anderson and Trapp families since 1941 and publishes twice a week. Co-publishers Sean and Leigh Trapp are the third generation to run the paper. The Times is the latest addition to the Montgomery, Ala.-based CNHI, which operates 90 community newspapers, websites, and niche publications in 22 Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, and Northeast states. Dirks, Van Essen & April represented CNHI, LLC in the transaction. Terms were not disclosed.

Paxton Media Group has purchased Landmark Community Newspapers LLC, a chain of daily and weekly newspapers based in Shelbyville, Ky. The deal includes the purchase of all 46 newspapers in the Landmark chain. Landmark Community Newspapers traces its roots to 1966 when a group of eight local newspaper publishers decided to pool their resources and purchase a printing plant. The company was incorporated as Newspapers Inc. two years later in 1968. Newspapers Inc. was then purchased by Landmark Communications Inc. in 1973. Dirks, Van Essen & April represented Paxton Media Group in the transaction. Terms were not disclosed.